Los Angeles County
Biographies
JOHN WILLIAM RANNELLS
RANNELLS, JOHN WILLIAM
(Deceased), Attorney and Real Estate Operator, Los Angeles, California, was
born October 10, 1870, at Murrayville, Morgan County, Illinois, the
son of Samuel David Rannells and Jane Hoge (Sackett) Rannells. His ancestors were among the pioneers of the middle West, prominent for generations in the work of the
Presbyterian Church. His father, a veteran of the Civil War, was among the
prominent real estate men of Los Angeles and was a factor in the development of
the city, his labors covering a period of twenty-five years. The town of Rannells, California, was founded and developed by him.
J. W. Rannells, who ranked with
the successful business men of the Southwest, spent his boyhood in Nebraska,
where his father had located and engaged in the real estate business. He
attended school at Grand Island, Nebraska, and later was a student at Hastings
College, Hastings, Nebraska, whence he was graduated.
Upon finishing his academic work, Mr. Rannells
moved to California with his father and took up the study of law in the office
of T. M. Stewart, a well-known Los Angeles attorney, and read for
about three years. At that time he passed the examination before the California
State Board of Law Examiners and was admitted to practice. He immediately
opened offices in the old McDonald Block on North Main street,
Los Angeles, and was engaged in practice up to the time of his death, a space
of about sixteen years.
In the meantime, however, Mr. Rannells
was also actively engaged in the real estate and land business in association
with his father and his brother, Alfred W. Rannells.
In 1904 they incorporated the Rannells Land Company,
he being elected Secretary and Treasurer of it, in addition to handling its
legal affairs. He served as Secretary and Treasurer of the Company until his
father’s death, Jan. 1, 1912, and at that time succeeded him in the
Presidency, an office he filled until he was claimed by death on
June 23, 1912.
The Rannells Land Company is
one of the substantial real estate concerns of Southern California and figured
in a great deal of development work in that section. The elder Rannells, in addition to developing several sections of the
city of Los Angeles, acquired extensive holdings in the Palo Verde Valley of
Riverside County, and after the formation of the Rannells
Land Company, laid out the town of Rannells,
California, and, with the aid of his sons, built it up to a thriving place.
J. W. Rannells was enthusiastic over the
Palo Verde Valley and devoted a large part of his energies to its settlement, a
work in which he was successful, for the section rapidly became one of the
wealth-producing agricultural districts.
Mr. Rannells was also of
material assistance to his father in the improvement of the hill section in the
northwestern part of Los Angeles, their motto in this
work being the expansion of the city of Los Angeles. The slogan, “We sell the
Hills,” which aided them largely in their campaign, was so distinctive as to
become a byword in the city.
In his professional and business capacities, Mr. Rannells carried an extraordinary amount of responsibility,
for, after the death of this father, the management of the business of the Rannells Land Company devolved upon him and in addition to
his land operations he was also engaged in building on a large scale. He also
took active interest in civic affairs and was one of the leading spirits in the
work of the North-East-West Improvement Association. He was keenly interested
in the affairs of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, the Municipal League of
Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Realty Board, the National Association of Realty
Exchanges and similar bodies.
Mr. Rannells met death in an
automobile accident at Los Angeles and was mourned by a large circle of
friends, for he was considered one of the most popular men in business and
social circles of the city. He was a prominent Mason, member of the Mystic
Shrine, a Knight Templar and an Elk, and member, Union League, Los Angeles.
Transcribed by Marie Hassard
16 May 2011.
Source: Press
Reference Library, Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I, Page 677,
International News Service, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston,
Atlanta. 1913.
© 2011 Marie Hassard.
GOLDEN NUGGET'S LOS ANGELES BIOGRAPIES